Two Different Cups of Coffee
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: They shared a kitchen across dimensions. Go figure.


**A/N:** Written for the digimon_100 challenge on livejournal, prompt #018 – awake. Also for The A-Maze-Ing Race Challenge, fic 3 with prompt word: kitchen.

And this idea totally mutated on me, so don't ask.

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**Two Different Cups of Coffee**

Kouichi was making a small pot of coffee when Miyako wandered in, rubbing her eyes.

He turned around; she froze, form tense as if to spring and mouth taut, ready to scream. But his presence hardly approved threatening, and to his relief she did none of those things. He couldn't have blamed her if she had though; it was rather surprising to see a stranger in one's kitchen so late at night.

Though it was technically his kitchen as well. It was rather confusing when the same kitchen could exist within two separate dimensions. He wasn't sure of the exact details, but somehow their times didn't overlap…usually.

'Maybe it's a space conservation thing,' he mused aloud.

'Uhh…'

'Oh, sorry.' He jumped away from the stove, a little embarrassed. 'I – uh – ack, how do I explain this?'

Miyako stared at him. 'How hard can it be to explain what you're doing in my kitchen?'

'Well, it's more that – ' Kouichi's hands automatically found something to clutch: the bench behind him. 'You know how there's different dimensions?'

'Yeah…' Miyako was still staring at him suspiciously. 'What about it?'

'Well…' Kouichi wished the bench was twistable. 'To save space – or something – one dimension has lots of places that overlap with another – or several – other dimensions. So…I'm actually in _my_ kitchen, but –'

'Hang on, I didn't follow that.' Miyako inched slightly back, wishing she'd had the foresight to bring Poromon with her. 'You're saying you're from – in – another world, and we share the same kitchen.'

'It's more the space of the kitchen I think. Not pots and pans and –' Kouichi cut himself off at the sound of the water boiling. 'Oh, I forgot about the –'

He didn't say what he forgot, instead turning to the coffee, turning the stove off and pulling out the milk, the sugar and the cups.

Miyako noted that none of those were familiar; even the brand of milk was different to what they usually used. Which meant the idea of her kitchen also existing in another dimension wasn't as crazy as it seemed.

'So I should be on the lookout for bits of the Digital World too,' she said rhetorically, deciding reality wouldn't be blowing up in her face any time soon and coming forward to take a seat at the kitchen table. 'I should tell Koushiro about this.'

'How many sugars?' Kouichi asked, having being paying more attention to the coffee cups than to the girl.

'Uhh…' Miyako stared at him, before replying: 'Two sugars.'

He mixed them in and handed the cup to her. She took it, staring at the slightly different colour, before taking a sip and shrugging. Coffee will be coffee, she supposed. The brand didn't make that much of a difference.

'How are you able to give me coffee?' she asked, 'if we exist in different dimensions?'

'I have no idea,' the other said lightly. 'I think I'll ask Junpei about it later, but you mentioned the Digital world?'

'Yeah.' Miyako cocked her head.

'Maybe that's why then.' Kouichi sipped at his own cup, taking an empty seat. 'The Digital World is something special; maybe the fact that we've both been there makes us attuned to each other's presence.'

'Maybe so,' Miyako agreed. 'It makes sense anyway.' She drank half the cup before adding: 'How come you weren't more surprised when I saw you?'

'Uhh…' Kouichi put down his slightly fuller cup. 'Maybe because I was already there? But – you didn't scream?'

'You don't look that threatening,' Miyako admitted. 'Really, you look at least two or three years younger than me. Granted, I was thinking Poromon's company would have been nice if you turned out to be – ' She cut herself off before finishing the statement, but the other was already laughing at her.

'Sorry,' he managed, stifling his amusement. 'But you're not the first to think that – although this was more justified.'

'And imagine if I hadn't been to the Digital World!' Miyako shook her head. 'Really, the idea is crazy. If we can talk like this between dimensions, isn't there potential for more…major interactions?' She paused. 'Like, I dunno, the Pacific Ocean spilling into somebody's bathroom. I can touch your cup after all.'

Kouichi regarded it; indeed she could. How else could she have downed three quarters of the cup of coffee he'd made in his kitchen, while she sat in hers. 'This sounds like a heavier conversation than two kids at three in the morning over a put of coffee.'

Miyako yawned at the mention of time. 'You had to say that,' she said lightly, finishing the cup and standing. 'Who gives coffee in the middle of the night anyway?'

'My experience with tea at this time is a difficulty in getting up in time for school,' the other returned, standing as well. 'Goodnight then?'

'Sure,' Miyako said, rubbing her eyes. 'I'll have to remember to bring this up with Koushiro at a more reasonable time. He'll have a field day, even if it turns out to be no big deal. I mean, if it's been working so far…unless the Gods have decided to do some rearranging…'

And Kouichi watched her wander upstairs with a goodbye as he took the two cups to the sink, and wondered if she'd remember their meeting or think it a dream when she woke up in the morning.


End file.
